Mob Culture: Hidden Histories of the American Gangster FilmLee Grieveson, Esther Sonnet, Peter Stanfield Sinister, swaggering, yet often sympathetic, the figure of the gangster has stolen and murdered its way into the hearts of American cinema audiences. Despite the enduring popularity of the gangster film, however, traditional criticism has focused almost entirely on a few canonical movies such as Little Caesar, Public Enemy, and The Godfather trilogy, resulting in a limited and distorted understanding of this diverse and changing genre. Mob Culture offers a long-awaited, fresh look at the American gangster film, exposing its hidden histories from the Black Hand gangs of the early twentieth century to The Sopranos. Departing from traditional approaches that have typically focused on the "nature" of the gangster, the editors have collected essays that engage the larger question of how the meaning of criminality has changed over time. Grouped into three thematic sections, the essays examine gangster films through the lens of social, gender, and racial/ethnic issues. Destined to become a classroom favorite, Mob Culture is an indispensable reference for future work in the genre. |
Contents
Gangsters and Governance in the Silent | 13 |
Gangsters Hoodlums | 41 |
The Kefauver Crime Committee | 67 |
Reclaiming Female Pleasures in the Lost History | 93 |
Gangster Masculinity and the Homoerotics | 120 |
Film Star and Public Enemy No 1 | 146 |
Good Evening Gentlemen Can I Check Your Hats Please? | 163 |
Waddaya Lookin At? Rereading the Gangster Film through | 185 |
Southern Italian Immigrants Crime | 207 |
Invocations of Gangsters in Chinatown | 238 |
Black Gangsters and the Abandoned City | 281 |
Notes on Contributors | 301 |
Other editions - View all
Mob Culture: Hidden Histories of the American Gangster Film Lee Grieveson,Esther Sonnet,Peter Stanfield No preview available - 2005 |
Mob Culture: Hidden Histories of the American Gangster Film Lee Grieveson,Esther Sonnet,Peter Stanfield No preview available - 2005 |